“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” II Corinthians 10:3-6 (KJV)

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Sunday, May 21, 2017

A very wise Christian man said, "There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.". Looking back onto Ronald Reagan's life,we can most certainly see that he not only taught this principle but he lived it. Ronald Reagan held one of the most powerful positions in the world as President of the United States. This position inevitably brings many pressures, yet through these Reagan exemplified taking the simple path.

What God requires of us is very hard, Jesus tells us that we must deny ourselves and take up our crosses following Him. This is by no means an easy task, it is a burden and we often slip and fall along the journey. What we must not forget is that it is a simple task. That is, we are to follow God's commandments in all we do. This requires knowledge: knowing and understanding the instruction of our Lord, and courage: willingness to put obedience to Christ above all other.

As we continue to devote our life to Christ and follow Him this week, let us be encouraged that we have a simple task before us. While it will be difficult and we will face temptations and sin, even this coming week, let us always come back to the simple instructions given us refocusing on Christ so we may continue to grow and glorify Him.

I hope this encourages you this week as you walk courageously!

Keep thinking, my friends!

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.Matthew 16:24-27(ESV)

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Standing
next to me in this photo is a man I lost 3 weeks ago today. For reasons that not I or anyone will likely ever know, Aaron chose to end his life on the first
day of this year. I have intentionally not brought this into the public eye
because I do not believe it belongs here to be dwelt upon out of respect for
the family and friends of Aaron. Today, however, I feel compelled to share
about with you not to dwell on his passing, but to celebrate his life well
lived. In doing so, I will attempt to let you in on his life and give you a
glimpse of his heart. I hope that you will take a minute of your time to read
this through as maybe engaging with Aaron through this post will impact you in
some way as his friendship to me impacted me in so many ways.

I
vividly remember the first day I ever saw Aaron, we were both 10 years of age.
We were at school orientation for our 6th grade year at Covenant
Academy. Both of us having reserved personalities, we did not actually meet,
but observed each other from a distance. What he observed of me I do not know
for sure, but what I saw was a well-dressed young man standing by himself
seeming to be a bit shy like myself. Someone who I was excited to have in
school as my classmate, yet slightly “scared” to meet because he was new to me.
Little did I know, however, that God had directed our paths to come together
and not only cross, but merge for the next 8.5 years.

We
did life together in many ways during those 8.5 years. We spent most of each
day of the week together in the same room learning, we attended chess club
together, we played football together, we had long conversations, we dueled
each other in the weekly Bible quiz games at school, we were fellow employees,
and maybe in that time we managed to have a few debates.

Aaron
was a very humble man. Through all his life, I can without a doubt say this was
his greatest and most consistent character quality. Because of his modesty and
his desire to turn the spotlight from himself to others, many people do not
know of all his other great qualities and talents. Aaron was extremely smart,
one of the sharpest and most brilliant people I have had the honor to meet. He
was quick witted. I remember we would often find ourselves hurling one liners at
each other and I never remember having the last word. Unless, of course, that
word was “touché” because he always had a better comeback. Aaron had a very
good sense of humor, especially hidden around a lot of people, but if you got
him in a small group of friends it was apt to manifest itself and keep others
laughing. He was quite competitive in anything he attempted. He never took
anything for granted as he was always ready and eager, with camera in hand, to
capture moments and memories. Also, he loved to spend time with children, often
having conversations with them and playing with them. He was very creative all
the way from writing stories to making Lego videos to drawing to building with Legos
to writing scripts to acting to voicing over etc.…he loved to create things of
this nature. It is in these creations, that you can see those more hidden parts
of his personality come out. He loved to serve others and share the gospel with
them, being an ambassador for Christ both here and in Mexico. He spent many
hours selflessly volunteering for local organizations as well. Aaron was very
compassionate to all people. He was extremely hard working. Aaron, most
importantly, loved God with all his heart and displayed his obedience to his
Lord consistently. Finally, he was an amazing friend--always encouraging me and
pushing me to be more like Christ. There is so much more that could be said
about him, but this is what comes immediately to mind.

I
truly loved Aaron, while I may never have explicitly said it to him, I hope he
understood that from my actions. I miss him and am forever saddened that our
paths separated so abruptly. At the same time, however, I am forever grateful
and honored to have been friends with him while sharing lives. I am continuing
in faith that he is with his Lord and Savior and that our paths will once again
unite.

I
hope that by reading this you gained something. I hope you now share a piece of
the life of a great young man, that you were encouraged by the selfless nature
of his life and that you will not take for granted your friendships—nothing in
this life can be taken for granted but the sovereignty of the God of the
Universe.

I
would specially ask you to pray for Aaron’s family: his mother, father and
brother. Also, please pray for his close friends many of which are struggling.
Pray that they all would be able to lean on God for strength and grow closer to
Him and His grace rather than away from Him towards the thoughts of death. Please
pray that all who hear of Aaron’s life will be impacted by it and celebrate the
living of it. Lastly, let your friends know how deeply appreciate them even
today.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.